The Clan With No Name
by Jessxmn
Summary: Shino sets out on a mission for a legendary clan that no one believes to exist. Shino's eyes are opened not only to the truth behind the legend but to another side of one of his comrades. ShinoTen M for later chapters.
1. Odd Day

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the universe itself. I'm only playing with them as if they were a set of dolls and a doll house by making them do what ever I want. XD

AN: This was originally supposed to be a one shot for a winter contest started by Rel and Murasaki Kaida also known as their colab. Rel Kaida. As you can see it's no longer winter and no where close to being a one shot but the point is they helped inspire this and should receive some credit for being awesome themselves.

I've thought up a lot of fan fiction over the years but my problem has always been getting it down on paper and then they usually get lost or abandoned before they are actually typed up and posted. I have Chapter 2 written somewhat already, just need to expand and such so while I cannot guarantee a date for it rest assured it wont take too long.

Also any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and if you'd like to take it a step farther and offer to be my Beta for this, I am looking for one : )

AAN: The *'s show bits I've taken from my own life and you can find the story behind them at the end if interested. If not you can just skip them at the end and go straight to the review button. : )

Chapter One A Secret Life

It was around noon on a cold day in mid fall when Shino was called to the Hokage Tower. As he walked to the tower he passed a number of early Christmas shoppers holding their coats closed tightly against the chilly winds. Several other ninja were also sticking to the streets and sidewalks as opposed to their normal rooftop avenues, hoping the buildings would block most of the wind. It was a somewhat crowded street today, but Shino observed that, as always, a path opened up before him as he walked. The shivering citizens still stared though as they stepped aside to let him pass. He tried to find some comfort in the fact that they were more then likely gawking at him for his attire then for who he is, but it seemed the weather was having an adverse effect on his mood.

He himself was not normally bothered by the cold weather. Why? Because his Kikaichu hive regulates his body temperature. Simple changes in weather have never bothered him. That is why he can be perfectly comfortable wearing two coats in summer or shorts in winter. This time of year his body puts out such an excess of heat that anyone who'd touch his skin would believe he was suffering from a fever. Of course there are not many who would get the opportunity let alone the inclination to do such. But it seems just seeing those around him shiver and frown had stirred up some feelings of gloomy-ness.

He has been known to sulk but few knew who hard he tried not to. In the comfort of his own mind he tried to bolster his spirits. "_They don't know you they way your comrades and teammates do," _he told himself, _"It is as it's always been like this. An individual is reasonable, while a group of people is prone to be fearful and judgmental. Although… even the rookie nine often neglect to include him on their social events…"_

As it was he entered the tower behind a shivering Genma who was oblivious to who was behind him. The resident senbon chewer and renowned ladies man shuffled slowly down the middle of the hallway, while Shino kept a silent and respectful distance behind him. Shino was contemplating the most polite way of passing the Jounin when Genma stopped suddenly in front of a group of chatting shiobi to make, what he thought was, an important announcement.

"My nuts are _frozen_!!" he said in a whispered yell.*

The group laughed at his antics and Anko grinned evilly and yelled "Genma I told you not to _always _go commando!", loud enough for the whole building to hear.

Uninterested in Genma's choice of underwear or lack there of and slightly perturbed at being held up, Shino stepped around the rightly embarrassed man as politely as he could. The group was still laughing at the Jounin's expense as he continued to the Hokage's office.

Shizune was giggling herself at her desk and shaking her head when he arrived. "Oh Shino-san she's expecting you go right on in." She smiled at him.

He nodded in return and with a simple, "Thank you

", he stepped inside the office.

Tsunade-sama had her chair turned toward the window and was gazing out at the trees leaves blowing in the wind. She knew he was there, any ninja worth anything would, so he waited patiently to be acknowledged. When she finally turned around she drummed her fingers on her well abused desk and looked him up and down, seemingly sizing him up.

"Aburame Shino, I am recommending you for a mission." She said at last.

"Recommending?" he raised an eyebrow while thinking, "_In regards to mission it is normally the Hokage to receive the recommendation, not to issue it."_

"Yes. This is a top secret mission. Essentially a two man reconnaissance." she explained. "There will be absolutely no paper work for this and all information regarding this mission must stay between you and the team leader unless reinforcements are need. Even then your team leader will decide that and how much will be shared. The only thing reported to me or this building should be the success or failure of the mission."

"_A mission that even the Hokage mustn't know the specifics of…", _he thought, "_This sounds like a clan mission, but normally clans keep these missions in the clan, and they never ask the Hokage for a recommendation…"_

"The team leader will decide whether or not to use you on this mission based on your shinobi abilities and her own level of trust in you." She steepled her finger as she spoke looking him in the eye, or as close to it as she could. "Based on your previous experiences and general personality I believe you would be the best at taking this information with you to the grave. Am I wrong in this assumption?" she asked.

"No," he replied, "although it is hard to say if my shinobi abilities would be best without the mission specifics."

"I'm afraid only the team leader can give you those and only after she's decided to include you on this mission." She settled back in her chair for a moment before pulling out a pad of paper and jotting something down. "The outcome of this mission is vital to not only to this village but the nation itself. Do you agree to my recommending you for this?"

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"Very well." She folded one sheet in half handed it to him along with a sealed scroll. "You can find her at this address. The scroll is a list of shinobi she may trust enough and their scheduled return dates. Let her know I need the ones she would like for me to keep in the village in case back up is needed. You are dismissed."

He walked toward the door but stopped with his hand on the handle. "Hokage-sama?"

"Yes?"

"This is a clan mission is it not?"

"Shino not every clan important to Konoha is full of shinobi."

With that he left with too many question and few answers.

He left the office intent on pursuing the address to the mysterious team leader but his way was once again blocked by Genma. Shino raised an eyebrow at what appeared to be the senbon chewer hiding behind the Hokage's two Chunin assistants. Down the hall in front of them Anko stalked towards them like a cat on a hunt. He secretly rolled his eyes at the childish display of the two fully grown Jounin.

"Aww come on! You said your nuts were frozen! This will certainly help them…_de-thaw_…"Anko cackled evilly as her sentence trailed off. Shino immediately spotted the pot of scalding hot coffee she was holding and smartly stepped back and towards the wall.

"_Perhaps being in the back ground of some social events are a blessing…," _he thought as Genma and the two Chunin ran in the exact opposite direction of Anko. "_Or not…" _he thought again as Anko approached him all smiles coffee pot still in hand.

"So Shino-kun? How are your nuts today?"

He dare not move as Anko was know to be a wild card. You'd never know what she would do. At length he settled for a simple "Fine."

"Oh well." She said with a bit of a pout, obviously disappointed that there was no de-thawing for her to do here. "Would you like a cup then, Shino-kun?" Her evil smile back in place as she made the offer.

"No thank you Mitarashi-san. Perhaps another time." He worded his answer carefully lest he offend her, while at the same time tried to remind her of the level of familiarity between them. The only people who had the right to call him kun were his teammates and family.

"Suit yourself Shino-kun." She smiled and returned to the break room not acknowledging his subtle hint. Regardless Shino headed straight for the exit door and away from danger.

Back on the street the people parted before him again as Shino resisted the urge to just shake his head at the rather odd day he's been having. "_First Genma's inappropriate announcement and then Anko's response both before and after his meeting. Of course the meeting itself was odd as well."_ he thought.

Remembering the meeting and the secret mission Shino pulled out the folder scrap of paper to check the address and found a small note as well:

_Use the back door. No one is answering the front._

He thought he recognized the address as belonging to the local weapons smith. Konoha's weapon smith was the kind old man who sold him his first kunai set. The man ran the shop with his wife and grand children but he couldn't be sure of the address since there were so few instances where he would need to visit a weapons shop.

With his primary weapon being his hive he didn't need to replace his kunai and shuriken as often as most ninja. This is doubly so since most people had such trouble Christmas and birthday shopping for him and usually just got him kunai and shuriken sets as gifts. He sighed a little walking down the street, "_I still have four sets from last year and I'm likely to get four - no three this year. Hinata insisted on my accompanying her to the bookstore." _He smiled to him self behind his high collar. "_She was very pleased with herself when we left even though we made no purchases and the next day last copy of the book I had been most interested in was gone. She had also tried hard that day to hide her chakra as she watched me with her bayakugan unfortunately she hid it to well and I had noticed. At least someone is putting out an effort."_

Shino now stood outside the store and compared the addresses. He was correct and the large closed sign on the front door corresponded correctly with the Hokage's small note. Stepping closer he read the notice from the Hokage's office posted opposite the Closed sign.

**Temporarily Closed**

Undergoing a change of management.

Emergency requisitions can be made through

the Ninja Academy Surplus until further notice.

"_It's a busy shopping day and Konoha's only weapons store is closed? How much odder can one day get?" _He asked himself as he peeked in the shop window. He could see some movement across the counter and through the glass office that let the owner watch both employees in the back and the customer at the counter. "_I can see what she meant now. A very important non-shinobi clan would be our weapon smith; Although I was not aware that he had an actual clan."_

Walking around the side of the building he discovered it was much larger then expected. It appeared to have a small two story house added on to the back unlike most family run business that had living quarters built above the shop on the second and sometimes third or fourth floors. The back wall of the shop looked more like the front of a house despite the fact that it faced the brick wall of the building behind it. A small three foot porch with a rocking chair, two windows with flower boxes, curtains and a doorbell greeted him.

He rings the bell and expects the old man or the mysterious team leader, but as the door open it reveals instead an eight year-old girl in braided pigtails straining her neck to smile directly at his face.

"Hello." She says in a cute sing-song voice with a mesmerized look on her face.

He lifts a single eyebrow to her before replying, "Hello, is your Ka-san or Nee-san here?"

"Yup Nee-san is." she cheerfully replied and did not cease staring or smiling at him from the doorway.

Exasperated Shino was about to ask the girl to fetch the woman when a boy of eleven or twelve walked down the stairs with a large stack of scrolls.

"Kairi shut the door your letting all the cold air in."

"Uh huh." Kairi mumbled still staring and smiling at Shino trapped outside the door. Thankfully the boy looked up after depositing his burden on the kitchen table.

"Sorry sir we're temporarily closed while undergoing a change of management. The Ninja Academy-"

"I am not a patron." Shino interrupted slightly annoyed. "The Hokage sent me here in regards to a mission."

The boy raised his own eyebrows at him, "The only ninja here is nee-san and she is not taking any new missions at this time-"

"Hiro!" The girls voice sang again, "Maybe it's the mission to go with Nee-san to the mine!" At last the young girls attention had finally shifted away from Shino and was now pointing her 100 watt smile at the boy.

Shino nodded and Hiro sighed as he turned to the door on the opposite side of the small kitchen area. "Follow me." he said but stopped when Shino cleared his throat from the door.

Kairi had turned back to Shino when she no longer had an attentive audience and still blocked his path while smiling up at what she could see of his face.

"Kairi?"

"Huh?" Still she stared at Shino.

"Don't you have some kunai to sharpen?"

"Oh! Uh huh!" And she ran off through the door Hiro was holding open.

Shino shut the door behind him and followed the boy into the next room. It looked like what he would assume to be a normal black smiths work shop. There were tables filled with different weapons in various stages of manufacturing on one side with two grinding wheels by the office he had spied earlier out side.

The pig tailed Kairi looked up from her own wheel and blushed before setting it to spin and donning her safety goggles. Hiro led him to the office in the corner where he watched through the ceiling high windows as the boy confidently strode to the opposite side of the room.

This side contained a few barrels of water with different metallurgy tool cooling inside, causing steam to rise up. There was a forge as well complete with billows and a few anvils of various sizes. It was the anvil currently in use the boy approached. A young woman with identical braided pigtails pounded away on a red hot piece of steel but looked up at the boy when, presumably, her name was called. It was impossible to hear with the exhaust fan going near the forge and the layer of glass between himself and the two.

She turned and looked at him through her welding mask before returning the tools and piece to the forge and handing her smock and mask to the boy who would continue her work. As the woman approached he caught him self thinking, "_Do I know her?"_

"_Hey Shino." She said with a smile the did not quite reach her eyes._

_Then it clicked. Someone who could trust him personally with clan secrets, someone who had strong ties to weapons, that someone was-_

"_Tenten?"_

_End Chapter_

_* This is a marching band story from way back in the day._

_The senior class clown had jokingly suggested a way to sabotage the band that won the state championship every year. This band had an impossible number of people in it, I'm talking around 500 or more so it seemed as though each player was no more then a few feet away from each other. His suggestion was for the senior class to go commando and to wait until the most difficult part of that bands drill to streak across the front of the field and hope that the sun reflecting off of their shiny white asses blinded them enough to cause a twenty tuba pile up aka turning the woodwinds 100 yard dash into the 100 yard hurdles with the other players being the hurdles._

_Needless to say it didn't happen but they guy still went commando and encouraged every one else to as well ,but it was very cold the evening of the competition. We were in full uniforms the entire time, for the first time we actually appreciated the gloves we had to wear and attempted to use our capes as blankets to stay warm. I was the first one on the bus before we left to go home because there was a shuttle going up and every one was oohing and awwing. I was sitting quietly on the seemingly empty bus when the guy runs on, stops in the center of the aisle and screams "MY NUTS… ARE FROOO-ZENNN!!" _

"_Well Greg." I said making him jump. "Going commando wasn't such a good idea was it?"_

_His face was a priceless tomato red as he grinned and laughed nervously with his oops I got caught face. _

_Greg Painter I don't know where you are or what your doing but keep being you because every one needs some laughter in their lives._


	2. Tears, Legends, and Secrets

AN I took out some of the Japanese from chapter one like Rel suggested. I plan on only using the suffixes and words like ba-san and nee-san because unlike English you can use these to address people you don't know the name of. Like in the wave country arc of Naruto he calls Haku nee-san at first because he doesn't know his name( and apparently his gender).

Also in English it is considered rude to walk up to some one and call them Granma, whereas in Japanese O-baa-san is acceptable because the 'o' is an honoriffic and the san shows a certain level of respect and can be used when you don't know the persons name. 'Baa-chan' like Naruto usually calls Tsunade is more disrespectful because it lacks the honoriffic and denotes to much familiarity. I think baa-chan jii-chan is only supposed to be used by children to their own grandparents, but I could be wrong.

Chapter Two Tears, Legends, and Secrets

Recap

"Hey Shino." She said with a smile the did not quite reach her eyes.

Then it clicked. Someone who could trust him personally with clan secrets, someone who had strong ties to weapons, that someone was-

"Tenten?"

* * *

"Yeah, I look a mess don't I?" She tried to laugh it off unsuccessfully.

Indeed she did. Her face was covered with patches of soot, her bangs were plastered to her forehead with sweat, and her normal panda buns were replaced with sadly fraying braided pigtails that reached her waist. Most disconcerting of all though were the dark rings under her eyes.

"Sorry for the wait." She said gesturing to the office chairs. "And the mess. I wasn't expecting anyone so soon after speaking to Tsunade-sama."

He sat and watched as she did the same, beginning to rummage through the draws of the old office desk.

"I feel like an idiot." She started to ramble, while searching. "I should of thought about you from the beginning but… a lot's happened. Ughh… this place is so disorganized."

"Then I am agreeable for this mission?" He asked, subconsciously worried she might still want to weigh her other options. The scroll from Tsunade-sama was still tucked away in his pocket and felt heavier with the thought.

"Totally." Tenten said with confidence, shooting him a small smile. "Ah shoot give me a sec…" She suddenly ducked down and started searching through the bottom drawer.

Shino wanted to shake his head at the mess around him. Tenten was well known for being a remarkably organized person. Her favorite training exercise relied upon her excessively organized summoning scrolls. In training she would have her opponent give her the name of a weapon, any weapon. Before her opponent could draw their next breath she would have already summoned and hurled the named weapon with deadly accuracy.

The room he was in was obviously anything but organized. The desk was littered with scrolls and different sheets of paper. Some had even been stabbed with a Kunai to keep them in place. The In and Out boxes reminded him of their Kage's, with the In pile threatening to topple on to the floor at any moment.

Now that he really looked there was very little standing room besides the space by the two doors that led to the front and back areas of the store. Boxes stacked on boxes, filled with more paper of various types, littered the floor and the few filing cabinets against the wall were overflowing with more.

"I take it you are the new management Hiro-san mentioned earlier?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Did he give you the whole 'Closed due to a change of management' thing?" She mimicked the boys tone perfectly. "I swear he's trying to be the big man of the house and it is _so_ not working." She gave him another sad smile before reaching down to pull out a handful of haphazardly folded maps to spread across the desk.

Shino could see the half shed tears waiting to fall as she tried to flatten out the wrinkled maps for the twelfth time. The deadly weapon specialist was trying to stall to gain her composure. Her fidgeting made her look even more pitiable when combined with her current state of appearance.

As she tried to hide her sniffles he was suddenly reminded of Hinata. While Kiba, their other teammate, was the shoulder for her to cry on Shino was the one who would listen to what ever she needed to say without fear of judgment.

Carefully he leaned across the desk and stilled her hands with his own, praying to God that she would need the latter rather then the former right now.

"Tenten?", he said after she had, with her chin down, continued to stare at their joined hands for a solid minute.

"I haven't really told anyone from our group yet. Not even my teammates… I've kind of been buried in here since…" Finally her eyes met his own, silent tears leaving tracks down her soot stained face, and braced herself with a deep breath before continuing.

"Kou-Kouteshi jii-san, the man who raised me… He d-died two weeks ago…", she choked out between sniffles.

"I am truly sorry Tenten.", he said, truly not knowing what to say. "You have my deepest condolences."

She nodded her thanks and fresh tears began to fall.

For once Shino felt he might be out of his league. He had hoped that it was only the stress and responsibility of running this establishment weighing down her soul. He even went so far as to prepare himself to offer advice and perhaps even his services to help with this place once the mission was complete. Now he felt he should have known that nothing short of losing someone she considered a family member would bring this bright and strong young woman to tears.

"He was almost as old as Tsunade-sama." She took another deep breath, squeezing his hands. "He knew it was coming… and passed in his sleep. He'd been telling me for years 'If I ever croak, this drawer labeled Tenten has every thing you need to bury me and keep this place running.'*"

She gave her saddest smile yet and he honestly found himself preferring the easy grins he'd seen her use in training. Even the more manic ones, that constantly reminded them all too much of Anko, would be better than the vision before him.

"Unfortunately," she continued, "that drawer seemed to be the only thing he _did_ label."

Tenten made a sound that could have been a small laugh or a sob, he couldn't tell. Sniffling a bit she pulled back, blinked her eyes rapidly and wiped her face with a dirty shirt sleeve. It didn't help much, he noted sadly, the tear tracks were only replaced with more soot.

"Well that's enough of that." She went on with another deep breath. Her puffy eyes aside she began to adopt a more professional manner. "This is more important right now. What exactly has Tsunade-sama told you so far?"

"Only that it would be a reconnaissance mission that may require additional back up. She also sent with me a list of Shinobi for you to choose from so that if back up is needed she can have them on stand-by."

After Shino handed her the scroll she went to place it in the precariously tiliting In box before sighing and chosing instead to use it to hold down a corner of the map.

"Thanks. I'll go over that once we're done here."

"I had also assumed, since this is a mission even the Hokage must not know the specifics of, that this is a clan mission."

"Right, but you're wondering what clan little orphan Tenten could possibly be a part of." A bit of pride laced her words. "Tell me, what do you know about the clan with no name?"

Shino's mind was brought back to one of his academy history lessons. Another child had brought it up and the instructor had dismissed it as an old wives tale. Shino almost had as well until his father had asked him about his day at school. Now he found himself repeating what his father had once told him as a boy.

"The Clan With No Name came to light during The Time of the Bronze Kunai." he started, as if reading straight from a text, "The time began by the depletion of Iron goods near the middle of the First Great Shinobi War. Fire country has always been predominately rich in Copper, Tin, and other metals, but Iron deposits are still scarce if not non-existent. Our allies were repeatedly prevented from delivering us any of the raw Iron we needed to make weapons. As a result we began scavaging battle grounds for scattered kunai and shuriken, as well as fashioning lower quality Bronze weapons as the materials were more readily available.

"In the Second Great Shinobi War our enemies attempted to use the same tactics as they had in the previous war. Knowing or lack of Iron resources they focused on our supply routes from the beginning. The war had lasted twice as long as the first, but the countries supply of Iron never ran out.

"Some say we had simply stocked up during the time of peace but all the Iron storage areas combined could never contain the entire amount that was used during the war. Another popular belief started from a Earth country rumor that said a merchant clan fled and offered their services to the Daiymo of Fire in return for refuge. The clan was believe to posses an ability to locate allusive metal deposits as easily as a Hyuuga could spot an enemy from several miles away.

"Of course both Daiymo's had denied the rumor and the clans name was never learned."

Tenten almost had a true grin when he finished and Shino was glad to see it.

"The mine that the young girl mentioned, is an Iron mine in Fire country." He stated.

"Yep.", she confirmed still smiling, probably happy to share the secret with someone new.

"The mission is to investigate a potential breach in the mines security."

"Yep.", she replied again but with her smile and tone weighed down by the serious of the situation. "O-baa-san, Kouteshi's wife Hitoshii, went down there in his place this month. We sent her a hawk to inform her of the funeral arrangements but she didn't make it back in time. We've had no word from the mining village and now she's a week late from her scheduled due date. So not only am I worried about her but the mine as well since we've had no reply.

"I've checked the reports for the area and the town that our mining village picks their mail up from has been burnt to the ground. It could be a coincidence, but I'd rather not risk going with out being prepared.

"Now this line," She said pointing it out on the map with recovered professionalism, "shows the route we always take to prevent being followed. It normally takes a week for civilian travel and two days for shinobi. We want to plan for three days on the way there to allow for weather and four on the way back incase I haven't found her yet and I'll need to stop in the towns and ask if anyone has seen her lately."

"Is there a possibility she may simply be lost?"

"It's doubtful since this isn't her first time out there, but then again she's no spring chicken either, so maybe. The route is also on an area that usually has a lot of Anbu passing through, though and no one has found her yet.

"What I want to do is head up to our mining village first," she said tracing her finger along the marked path and tapping a spot on the northern borders mountains. "From a distance we can cautiously observe for anything that might point to it being compromised. If its not we can go in and ask around and if it is then one of these two villages is where we can call and wait for back up."

The two towns she had pointed to both flanked a third with a red x marked through it. "I take it this is where your village used to pick up its mail?" He asked pointing it out on the map.

"Yeah." She said starting to get a little more down and proping her chin up on the desk. "The fire was pretty bad with a lot of people hurt. Ino and Sakura lead medical teams to each of these towns to help with the survivors. If I don't find her before turning back I'll have to check in and see if she's among the burn victims…"

_"Or the dead…"_ he finished her thought sadly, in the safety of his own mind.

Somewhat impulsively he took her free hand into his own. "_We_ will find her Tenten. No friend should let another go through this alone."

"Thanks Shino," she smiled and it was the best one he'd seen from her today. "That really means a lot to me."

* * *

Shino began immediately packing his winter gear when he arrived home that night. His normal traveling pack hung from a bed post at the foot of his bed, always prepacked and ready for a last minute mission. He searched through his closet pulling out warmer clothes and his heavy yellow traveling cloak and adding them to the growing pile on his bed.

Now, it is true that simple changes in weather would have no great effect on him, or any Aburame, but the much harsher winter conditions in the mountains could still be lethal without proper protection. He wouldn't need it here in Konoha yet but in the northern mountains where the mine was located they'd be essential.

Searching the bottom of his closet for his snow boots, he tried to push down the last bit of worry Tenten had all but stamped out earlier. After looking over the map again with her earlier the mine's close proximity to the border of Mountain Country had him suggesting a full team of four. She had shot down his suggestion by repeatedly assuring him that the mountains making up the border are impassible for miles around the village.

Unable to find his boots at the bottom of the closet he looked to the top shelf. Scanning over the contents of it, he was rewarded with the sight of black shoelaces hanging out of the box that contained all the unused weapons he had gotten as gifts over the years.

Shino took the boots down, and in doing so, knocked the handle of a kunai into view. The number etched into the butt of the handle caught his attention. '_1010_' he thought, '_It's not a batch number as I had thought, but a makers mark. Tenten.'_

He stood still, boots still in his arms, as images float into his mind. Tenten's sad smile and tears streaking through the soot smudges she had gained while crafting weapons similar to the ones in his closet. This image overlapped the one he usually kept of her in his mind. He tried to summon a happier and less recent image of the normally strong and cheerful Kunoichi.

He remembered watching her train with her team. Perspiration glistened on her sun tanned skin as she twirled in the air; fire and mischief in her eyes as the wind blew her bangs away from her hiteate; a wicked smile gracing her lips in the bright sunlight of the afternoon. Her delicately shaped hands, Callused through hard work, deftly caught her summoned blades as they were released from her scrolls and in graceful and fluid movements hurled them effortlessly at her targets with deadly accuracy.

Still staring at the kunai Tenten had crafted he reviewed many other memories of her in a new light. He slowly came to appreciate the differences and similarities between themselves. They were both somewhat sideline players, both the last to come to mind unless their specific talents were needed. Yet compared to himself, she was always cheerful and friendly in all her social interactions. She had none of the social awkwardness that he was burdened with, no constant struggle to fit in with her peers.

He became lost in his thoughts as they uncharacteristically traveled to what made her a woman. Thinking of her easy smile, his attention drifted to her lips. Thoughts of her dexterity in training drifted to her womanly build. Visions of her in the midst of arduous training and deadly battle drew his mental gaze to her shapely limbs and strong core leading further to the softer regions of her body.

"Shino."

His eyes refocused to the top shelf of his closet after being pulled back to reality. He kept his chin down in embarrassment and effectively hide his flushed cheeks in his overly large collar.

"Father." He nodded to his father standing in the doorway to his room. Even though his father's own high collar shielded his face from view, Shino was left with the impression that the man was smirking at him.

"Going somewhere _that_ cold, son?" Shibi's voice held a note of mirth more common to the older Aburame's in the clan. The ones who survived the trials of growing up as one and found humor in their progeny's effort to do the same. Nevertheless Shino's suspicions of being found amusing had been confirmed.

Shibi knew with absolute certainty that his son had been lost in thought over a girl. His first clue wasn't even that he was staring off into a closet for Kami knows how long. Nor was it the fact that he had walked up early enough to watch one the boots slip from his son's hands without noticing. But the reason he had come up here in the first place was the slight buzzing that had caught his attention. The noise was a lot more audible then was norm for a kikaichu hive but in a slightly different pitch. A pitch they gave off when ever a their Aburame host was experiencing an... amorous emotion.

"Yes." Shino responded quickly, hoping to avoid another rendition of the birds and the bees, or the bees and the butterflys as the Aburame's called it. "The woman who raised Tenten-san has gone missing while traveling. There is a chance she might have been in the village that burnt down in the northern mountains and we are leaving tomorrow to search for her. Why me? All of her genin team are away on missions as well as most of our peers. It seems my mission is just as much to offer moral support as it is to search."

He hoped his explanation did not seem to scripted even though he stuck to the truth as much as possible. As his father sighed he knew he need not have worried.

"In that case son, I wish you the best of luck and pray you find her in good health." Shibi's tone was somber as he turned to walk away. "I'll leave you to prepare for your mission."

Shino picked up his dropped boot and began switching out the summer gear that was prepacked with the winter gear he had assembled. Internally he was grateful that his hive had calmed during the short talk with his father. The buzzing was once again at a level he knew only he could hear.

_'I'll have to be more careful with my control," _he thought. '_Especially while alone on this mission with Tenten."_

He had just finished his mission preperations when the foul odor of something burning reached his nose. _'Kami help us and the clan,'_ his mind screamed as he raced down the hall and stairs, '_Father __is trying to cook again.'_

AN - Finaly done. I hope I did alright. That last bit took me forever. The local coffee shop I always go to had sortof a writers work shop thing sunday. It was only four people including me but everyone shared a poem, story or idea and received feed back and constructive critisism. It gave me the push I needed to finish this chapter and I'd like to think I walked away with some thing from it. I'm looking forward to it again next week and getting chapter three out of the way.

Chapter three is going to follow more of Tenten's thoughts and feelings. I don't see Shino as some one who self narrarates what is on his mind but I'm going to try it with Tenten. I like to think that I tried with Shino and it just didn't turn out that way because of his character but I could be wrong. It might just be something wrong with how I right. If I have just as much trouble with Tenten I will know it's me and I can try to fix it.

See you next time and don't forget to review!

*Small real life note- My father keeps a breifcase next to his desk with my name on it. It's got his VA information, Life Indurance info, House morgage info, and numbers and such to put him in theground and keep the house above our heads for atleast a year.

It seemed really sad at first when he handed me a copy of his will at age 15 but now at 23 I see what all those life insurance commercials are talking about. My dad is 63 and rides a Harley, He's just being realistic like he's always been.

Names Kouteshi - Steel; Hitoshii - Equal; Hiro - part of a hiroi meaning wide,spacious; Kairi - no definition, Kingdom Hearts Refrence; Kami - God


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